At the weekend, four people were reportedly killed by gunmen in Yelewta community of Guma local government area of Benue state. It was gathered that three of the four deceased were killed by gunmen suspected to be herders while the fourth was allegedly felled by a stray bullet of security agencies in a bid to contain the protest which broke out following the killings of the trio.
Africa learnt that protesters poured into the main road linking Makurdi to Lafia when the news of the trio killed in their farm filtered into Yelewta – a rural Benue community bordering Nasarawa state. The local government council chairman, Mr Caleb Aba, told newsmen that angry youth had blocked the highway to protest the killing of the three teenagers who went to cultivate their farm following the onset of rainy season.
Aba said the killing of the teenagers by suspected herders angered the youth of Yelewta so much that they barricaded the highway with the deceased corpses, making it difficult for motorists to ply the route. He explained that the development led to the intervention of security agencies, including the Police, soldiers of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) and traditional rulers at the scene as they tried to calm the protesters to unblock the road.
“Sadly in an attempt to disperse the angry youth who were resisting, there was a shot by the security agencies and unfortunately, one of the protesters was hit by a bullet and killed,” he said. The council chairman added that he was already making burial arrangement for the four corpses to be interred. Aba however noted that normalcy had returned to Yelewta community after the chaos and villagers now going about their businesses.
